The Armchair Tick

  This is a real life photo of a wonderful observation of a curious Canyon Wren on an expedition trip into Mexico. 

After a year of no lifers, the ebird updates gave me several wonderful new bird species from splits.  I had known at some point, these birds, with some research, would get split from subspecies status to their own species, except the Warbling Vireo. But I paid attention to the experts and took notes during my travels over the years.  Arm chair ticks!  While it has been a meaningful year of birding, I was bummed that I hadn't even added a single new species to my list. But because I did my homework in the past, I've added 5 new birds.

A little AI of an older birder somewhat looking like me

What's an armchair tick? Well, it sounds disgusting (like there's a bug infestation in your chair) but it's actually a term birders use to say that they've added new birds to their lists by just paying attention out in the field.  Or in some cases, just being in the right area of the world where certain species that may look similar are actually quite different. 

                                                          Western Warbling-Vireo

Case in point, the now Eastern and Western Warbling-Vireos, perhaps what I'd call a cryptic species....one that looks almost exactly like its counterpart. Their sounds are different but to me, they look quite similar.  If you're in the eastern part of the US, that's where you'll find the eastern group. (and vice versa).  They can cross into each other's range from time to time but during migration. 

                                                             Eastern Warbling-Vireo

Their breeding range is quite defined.  It's not the most exciting split from the original Warbling Vireo title, but this one species is now two and requires birders to pay special attention to their location. Western tends to be more colorful and it's what we'd expect to see in Arizona.  Eastern is paler and more gray and said to be smaller.  Honestly, if I saw the 2 together, I wouldn't be able to tell.  I'd have to hear their calls to distinguish them both.  In my opinion, it's kind of like the Western Flycatcher debate that happened for years. Cordilleran and Pacific-slope Flycatchers caused birders so much grief with many just wanting them to be lumped back again into Western Flycatcher.  And so it was done.  I think the vireos have a lot more research than the Western Flycatcher did but they too were once split. The difference? A lot more genetics testing with detailed field technologies for sound comparison and data from sources like ebird! 

                                                                 Mexican Squirrel-Cuckoo

With an armchair tick, it's an easy add from your past's work. Now lumps too can occur, like the Western Flycatcher and the Redpolls.  This means you can also "lose" a species if it's discovered that there is no genetic variance between the color morphs, etc.  However, the Squirrel Cuckoo got 2 splits this year. And I picked up another lifer from my summer in '24 to San Blas with the Mexican Squirrel-Cuckoo.  I knew this one was a possible split.  In fact, I definitely think there is one more coming with a bit more research.  The Amazon subspecies tends to be darker but for now it's labeled as the Common Squirrel-Cuckoo. So we paid attention in the mangrove swamps of San Blas to this bird.  It's a much more colorful bird for sure with lovely rusty tones and a longer tail.  Any day you see a Squirrel-Cuckoo is a good day:)

                                                          Now the Mangrove Yellow Warbler

Another split that I had been expecting, even though no one said anything, was the Mangrove Yellow Warbler from the Northern Yellow Warbler. The name says it all.  It's a yellow warbler that likes the mangroves.  So once again, I had my camera ready to get a pic of this bird in San Blas. It has a rusty head which is quite distinct from it's yellow cousin. I knew that it was different as I think did many birders.  Many often try to see the bird in Texas on South Padre Island where it's commonly found. If the mangroves are thick, it can be a tricky bird to observe!

                                                                           Eurasian Whimbrel

A few years back in Wales, I kept my eyes on this bird, then the universal Whimbrel. Steve had said that in Britain, this bird was already split from its North American counterpart.  I listened and took notes and we made a concerted effort to find this bird even though it was still considered a Whimbrel back home. 

This year they FINALLY acknowledged that they are scientifically their own separate species. Local birders in Britain had known this for years. While they both obviously look like whimbrels, their crowns are slightly different as are their rumps.  Yes. I said rumps. The North American whimbrel, now known as the Hudsonian Whimbrel, is a browner darker bird with a uniform rusty rump.  The Eurasian Whimbrel has a nice white rump that can be seen when in flight. 

                                                             White-eared Ground-Sparrow

A bird that I have studied for years in Central America had appeared differently to me in the various countries from Chiapas down to Panama.  Again, I made note and then after those treks, I did some research on the ground-sparrows because they were different looking.  Often, they are an early morning species that likes open grasses near dense vegetation near the shadows of heavy vegetation. The White-eared Ground-Sparrow is darker with a definite "white ear" and no crown found in Costa Rica.  The Gray-crowned Ground-Sparrow is a separate population found in Chiapas.  

                                                                    Gray-crowned Ground-Sparrow

The greatest mystery for me was finding that split in ebird.  Thankfully ebird can now send you a personalized list of splits and lumps after the update. Just go to the recent news on ebird's main page and click on your personalized report from the ebird taxonomy. (or just click on the link) There's a lot more coming in splits but the research has to get done first before they can make the splits happen.  That's the cool part about birding.  There's still so much to learn.  We live in an exciting time where research with genetics has really upped the game.  But it's not just genetics.  It's also careful observation of habitat, sound, range, etc. 

If I don't add anymore lifers this year, I'll be fine.  Just glad I got a few more.  What did you add?  What might have you had lumped?  Share in the comments below.  Until next time....